Indicating an Association Between a Social-Media Account and a Media Playback System

ABSTRACT

Examples disclosed herein include a social-media computing system receiving, from a first computing device, a first message indicating that a media playback system is associated with a first social-media account; and based on the received first message, sending, to a second computing device associated with a second social-media account, a second message indicating that the media playback system is associated with the first social-media account. The examples may also include the second computing device receiving, from the social-media computing system, the second message; and based on the received second message, causing display of an indication of the association between the media playback system and the second social-media account.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/495,706, titled “Indicating an Association Between a Social-MediaAccount and a Media Playback System,” filed on Sep. 24, 2014, andcurrently pending. The entire contents of the Ser. No. 14/495,706application are incorporated herein by reference. This application alsoincorporates the entire contents of the following applications byreference: (i) U.S. application Ser. No. 14/495,595, titled “SocialMedia Queue,” filed Sep. 24, 2014, and currently pending; (ii) U.S.application Ser. No. 14/495,633, titled “Playback Updates,” filed onSep. 24, 2014, and currently pending; (iii) U.S. application Ser. No.14/495,590, titled “Associating a Captured Image with a Media Item,”filed Sep. 24, 2014, and currently pending; (iv) U.S. application Ser.No. 14/495,659, titled “Media Item Context from Social Media,” filedSep. 24, 2014, and currently pending; and (v) U.S. application Ser. No.14/495,684, titled “Social Media Connection Recommendations Based onPlayback Information,” filed Sep. 24, 2014, and currently pending.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other items directedto media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were severely limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed forone of its first patent applications, entitled “Method for SynchronizingAudio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering amedia playback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi Systemenables people to experience music from virtually unlimited sources viaone or more networked playback devices. Through a software controlapplication installed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can playwhat he or she wants in any room that has a networked playback device.Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can bestreamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be groupedtogether for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in allrooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example network configuration in which certainembodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows an example media playback system configuration;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 5 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an example method;

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of an example method;

FIG. 8 shows an example display; and

FIG. 9 shows an example display.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

In some examples, it may be useful for certain playback operations of amedia playback system associated with a first social-media account to beprovided to a computing device associated with a second social-mediaaccount, in order to create an interactive and/or shared mediaexperience. For example, a first user may sign in to their social-mediaaccount and be able to learn about media content that a second user isaccessing (and perhaps see a playback zone where the second user islistening to the media content), provide comments to the second user(and/or other users) regarding the media content, suggest other mediacontent for the second user to experience, and/or access the mediacontent himself/herself.

For instance, a first computing device may be communicatively coupled toand/or configured to control the media playback system. In someinstances, the media playback system (or a media system server) mayauthenticate the first computing device by receiving, from the firstcomputing device, credentials corresponding to the media playback system(or corresponding to a playback system account that corresponds to themedia playback system). The first computing device may also beauthenticated by a social-media server (e.g., a social-media server thatmanages or is otherwise associated with the first and secondsocial-media accounts) by receiving, from the first computing device,credentials corresponding to the first social-media account.Additionally, the first computing device may detect one or more inputsrepresenting a command to associate the media playback system (or theplayback system account) with the first social-media account. This maycause the first computing device to send to the social-media server (i)data indicating the association between the first social-media accountand the media playback system (or playback system account), and/or (ii)data related to playback operations of the media playback system.

The social-media server may then provide the data related to theplayback operations and/or indicating the association to other computingdevices that have also been authenticated by the social-media server.For example, a second computing device may be authenticated with thesocial-media server using credentials corresponding to the secondsocial-media account and may receive the data from the social-mediaserver. In one example, if the social-media server has received, from acomputing device associated with the first social-media account, anauthorization for the data to be shared publically, the data may be madeavailable to any or all computing devices associated with anysocial-media account of the social-media server (including the secondcomputing device). In another example, the authorization to receive thedata may be limited to a particular group of social-media accounts(e.g., a “friend list” associated with the first social-media account),and the social-media server might provide the data only to a group ofcomputing devices authenticated as belonging to the group (perhapsincluding the second computing device).

In some examples, the second computing device (e.g., associated with thesecond social-media account) may cause display of an indication of theassociation between the first social-media account and the mediaplayback system. The indication may take the form of a graphic, text,and/or particular colors, among other examples.

The indication may further indicate whether the media playback system(associated with the first social-media account) is currently playingback media content, and if so, may identify the media content beingplayed back. In another example, the indication may further indicatethat the media playback system is not currently playing back mediacontent, but may identify the media content that was previously (orlast) played back by the media playback system.

As indicated above, examples provided herein are directed to sharingdata indicating an association of a media playback system (or a playbacksystem account) and a social-media account and/or sharing data relatedto playback operations of a media playback system associated with asocial-media account. The data may be shared with one or more computingdevices associated with other social-media accounts.

In one aspect, a method is provided. The method involves receiving, by asocial-media computing system from a first computing device, a firstmessage indicating that a media playback system is associated with afirst social-media account; and based on the received first message,sending, to a second computing device associated with a secondsocial-media account, a second message indicating that the mediaplayback system is associated with the first social-media account.

In another aspect, a social-media computing system is provided. Thesocial-media computing system includes a processor and a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by theprocessor, cause the social-media computing system to perform functions.The functions include receiving, from a first computing device, a firstmessage indicating that a media playback system is associated with afirst social-media account; and based on the received first message,sending, to a second computing device associated with a secondsocial-media account, a second message indicating that the mediaplayback system is associated with the first social-media account.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions that when executed by a social-media computing system causethe social-media computing system to perform functions. The functionsinclude receiving, from a first computing device, a first messageindicating that a media playback system is associated with a firstsocial-media account; and based on the received first message, sending,to a second computing device associated with a second social-mediaaccount, a second message indicating that the media playback system isassociated with the first social-media account.

In yet another aspect, a method is provided. The method includesreceiving from a social-media computing system, by a computing deviceassociated with a first social-media account, a message indicating thata media playback system is associated with a second social-mediaaccount; and based on the received message, causing display, by thecomputing device, of an indication of the association between the mediaplayback system and the second social-media account.

In yet another aspect, a computing device associated with a firstsocial-media account is provided. The computing device includes aprocessor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium that storesinstructions that when executed by the processor cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include receiving from asocial-media computing system, a message indicating that a mediaplayback system is associated with a second social-media account; andbased on the received message, causing display of an indication of theassociation between the media playback system and the secondsocial-media account.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions that when executed by a computing device associated with afirst social-media account cause the computing device to performfunctions. The functions include receiving from a social-media computingsystem, a message indicating that a media playback system is associatedwith a second social-media account; and based on the received message,causing display of an indication of the association between the mediaplayback system and the second social-media account.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Network Configuration

FIG. 1 shows an example network configuration 100 in which one or moreembodiments disclosed herein may be practiced or implemented. As shown,the network configuration 100 includes a wide area network (“WAN”) 110that communicatively couples a media system server 120, a social-mediaserver 130, one or more media playback systems 140 and 142, and one ormore computing devices 150, 152, and 154. It should be understood thatthe network configuration 100 may include more or fewer of the depictednetwork elements and/or may include various other network elements notshown in FIG. 1 (e.g. one or more media sources).

In examples, the WAN 110 may include the Internet and/or one or morecellular networks, among other networks. Although the WAN 110 is shownas one network, it should be understood that the WAN 110 may includemultiple, distinct WANs that are themselves communicatively linked. TheWAN 110 may facilitate transferring data between one or more of thevarious network elements shown in FIG. 1. In some examples, a givennetwork element may communicate with another network element through yetanother network element. For instance, the media playback systems 140and 142 may communicate with the social-media server 130 through themedia system server 120 and/or the computing devices 150-154 maycommunicate with the media system server 120 through the social-mediaserver 130. Other examples are also possible.

In some examples, certain network elements may be communicativelycoupled to other network elements via means other than the WAN 110. Inparticular, certain network elements may be communicatively coupled viaa local area network (e.g., via WiFi), a personal area network (e.g.,via Bluetooth), and/or other connections (e.g., via a wired connection).For example, the computing device 150 may communicate with the mediaplayback system 140 via a local area network (e.g., WiFi or perhapsaccording to a proprietary protocol). The computing device 150 may do sowhile operating as part of the media playback system 140 (e.g., as acontrol device).

The media system server 120 may include a network interface, aprocessing unit, and data storage, all of which may be communicativelylinked together by a system bus, network, or other connection mechanism.The network interface may facilitate data flow over the WAN 110 betweenthe media system server 120 and other network elements. The processingunit may include one or more general purpose processors and/or one ormore special purpose processors and may be integrated in whole or inpart with the network interface. The data storage may include anon-transitory computer-readable medium, such as optical, magnetic, orflash memory, and may be integrated in whole or in part with theprocessing unit. The data storage may also include program instructionsthat are executable by the processing unit to carry out variousoperations described herein.

Moreover, the media system server 120 may be configured to store and/oraccess various data related to media items and/or media playbacksystems. In examples, the media system server 120 may be configured tostore and/or access media items that are playable by a media playbacksystem. In such examples, the media system server 120 may be configuredto provide to a given media playback system media items (e.g., audio,video, and/or audio-visual files) or links, pointers, or other networklocation identifiers that are operable to locate the media items.Additionally, the media system server 120 may be configured to storeand/or access a cross-service linking database that facilitatesidentifying a media item from a first media source based on media iteminformation from a second media source.

The media system server 120 may also be configured to provide one ormore media applications to the media playback systems 140-142 and/or thecomputing devices 150-154. In some cases, a media application may beoperable to allow a computing device to control one or more mediaplayback systems. Additionally or alternatively, a media application maybe operable to allow a media playback system to interface with thesocial-media server 130 and playback media items based on social-mediadata. Further still, a media application may be operable to providefunctions similar to those provided by a social-media application,discussed in further detail below. Other example media applications arealso possible.

In examples, the media system server 120 may be configured to storeand/or access account information corresponding to a particular mediaplayback system. Such information, which may be collectively referredherein as a “playback system account”, may include system information(e.g., a household identifier (HHID) that is used to uniquely identifythe particular media playback system, identifiers of the devices withinthe particular system, the software version currently installed on theparticular media playback system, etc.) user information (e.g., name,date of birth, etc. of the user or users of the particular system),playback history information (e.g., media items previously played on theparticular system and perhaps timestamps indicating when such mediaitems were played), playback preference information (e.g., frequency atwhich a given media item is played, indications of media items that havebeen “liked” or “starred”, etc.), and linked-account information (e.g.,one or more social-media accounts that are linked to the particularmedia playback system). Other examples of information storable andaccessible by the media system server 120 are also possible.

In some examples, a playback system account may also include informationregarding the media services that provide media to the particular mediaplayback system. For example, the playback system account may includeone or more identifiers of media services that provide media to theparticular media playback system. Such information may be used by themedia system server 120, or perhaps the social-media server 130, torecommend media services that a user might be interested in. Otherexamples are also possible.

In practice, the media system server 120 may store some or all of theabove-discussed information based on data received from media playbacksystems (e.g., the media playback systems 140 and 142), the social-mediaserver 130, and/or the computing devices 150-154. In examples, suchinformation may be provided to the media system server 120 when a mediaplayback system is first setup, when a media playback system plays backmedia items, when a media playback system receives data indicating userfeedback, and/or when a computing device runs a media application tocontrol a media playback system, among other scenarios. In any event,the media system server 120 may be configured to provide an option to auser to “opt in” so that the aforementioned information is collected bythe media system server 120.

The media system server 120 may be further configured to use theabove-discussed information to determine playback behaviors of users ofmedia playback systems, among other operations. Based on user playbackbehaviors, the media system server 120 may perform a number ofoperations that may add to the users' playback experience. For example,such information may be used to identify a trending artist and thenrecommend that trending artist to a user whose playback historyindicates he/she listens to other artists similar to the trendingartist. Other examples are certainly possible.

The social-media server 130 may include a network interface, aprocessing unit, and data storage, similar to those of the media systemserver 120 discussed above. The social-media server 130 may beconfigured to provide a social-media service to subscribers to theservice. For example, the social-media server 130 may be configured toestablish and/or maintain a social network. To this end, thesocial-media server 130 may be configured to host a social-media webpageaccessible over the WAN 110 by subscribers utilizing any suitablecomputing device, such as the computing devices 150-154.

In examples, the social-media server 130 may be configured to storesubscriber account information, which may be collectively referredherein as a “social-media account”. Such information may include thename, gender, birthdate, email address, and/or residential address,among other information, for each subscriber. Moreover, the social-mediaserver 130 may also be configured to link a given subscriber with aparticular media playback system. For example, when a user firstsubscribes to the social-media service, the user may provideinformation, such as a HHID, of a media playback system used by theuser, and the social-media server 130 may then store such information inthe account of the subscriber.

In addition to subscriber account information, the social-media server130 may also be configured to store respective subscriber profiles foreach subscriber. Broadly speaking, a subscriber profile may includeinformation regarding a subscriber's life, such as relationship status,photos, videos, career information, education information,hobbies/interests, locations visited (e.g., “check-in” locations),sports teams that the subscriber is a fan of, and/or movies, books,artists, TV shows, and the like that the subscriber previouslyexperienced and perhaps enjoyed. Such information may be presented on asubscriber profile in a number of manners, such as through subscriberposts, status updates, blogs, and other uploads.

The social network provided by the social-media server 130 may beconfigured so that subscribers may readily share and exchangeinformation, ideas, creations, and the like over a virtual community.The social-media service may provide to its subscribers, via asocial-media webpage, respective social-media information that isdetermined to be relevant to a particular subscriber. Such informationmay be provided in several manners (e.g., as a “news feed”, “timeline”,or the like) and may be personalized to fit the preferences of aparticular subscriber. In examples, this information may be continuouslyupdated to reflect the most current information that may be relevant toa particular subscriber.

A given subscriber may have certain “friends” that he/she chooses toassociate with. After someone is deemed a “friend” with a givensubscriber, the given subscriber may then receive social informationthat is uploaded, tagged, posted, or otherwise provided by the “friend.”For example, the given subscriber's news feed may show a photograph thata “friend” captured and subsequently posted to the social-media webpage.Moreover, a listing of a given subscriber's “friends” may also beprovided and that listing may include various information in variousforms reflecting a current “status” or the like for a given “friend.”The given subscriber may at also be able to “de-friend” someone that waspreviously deemed a “friend.”

In practice, the social-media server 130 may be configured to collectand analyze the information that is shared and exchanged over thesocial-media service. The social-media server 130 may be configured touse this collected information, as well as subscriber accountinformation, to determine for a particular subscriber other subscribersthat the particular subscriber might want to become “friends” with. Inthis way, the social-media server 130 may be configured to determine thepreferences and/or tastes of its subscribers and recommend othersubscribers with similar tastes.

Moreover, the social-media server 130 may be configured to provide oneor more social-media applications that are operable to providesubscribers access to the social-media service in a manner differentthan through a web browser. Such an application may be installed on acomputing device that is perhaps portable. In examples, a social-mediaapplication may further be operable to provide functions similar tothose provided by a media application, as discussed above.

Furthermore, a social-media application, and/or perhaps a mediaapplication, installed on a computing device may be operable todetermine what, if any, other applications are also installed on thecomputing device. An application that is operable in such a manner mayfacilitate linking a playback system account with a social-media accountand vice versa. In examples, after a social-media application installedon a computing device is linked to a playback system account, thesocial-media application may be operable to affect playback of media ata media playback system identified by the playback system account.

In examples, the network configuration 100 may also include one or moremedia service provider servers communicatively coupled to the WAN 110.In general, a given media service provider server may correspond to amedia service provider that provides streaming media, such as Internetradio and/or “on-demand” media, to the media playback systems 140-142and/or the computing devices 150-154. A user may subscribe to such aservice and register media devices (e.g., a media playback system and/orone or more computing devices) that may at times be used to access themedia service. A media service provider server may include similarcomponents as the servers discussed above.

Generally speaking, the media playback systems 140 and 142 may be anytype of media playback system configured to receive and transmit dataover a communication network and playback media items. In practice, eachmedia playback system 140 and 142 may include one or more playbackdevices, as well as additional system devices (e.g., a controllerdevice). An example media playback system is discussed in further detailbelow with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood that the mediaplayback system 140 and the media playback system 142 may be configuredsimilarly or differently and/or may include similar or differentdevices.

In general, each computing device 150-154 may be any computing deviceconfigured to transfer data over a communication network. The computingdevices 150-154 may each include at least one processor, memory, agraphical display, an input interface, and a network interface, amongother components. In some instances, the graphical display and the inputinterface may be part of the same component (e.g., a touchscreen). Thenetwork interface may facilitate data flow between the computing deviceand another network element, for example, via the WAN 110. In someexamples, one or more of the computing devices 150-154 may also includea camera configured to capture image and/or video data. Examplecomputing devices include, but are not limited to, cellular phones,smartphones, PDAs, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, video gameconsoles, and smart TVs.

Moreover, the computing devices 150-154 may be configured to download,install, and operate an application, such as a media or social-mediaapplication. In examples, a given computing device may include a mediaapplication provided by the media system server 120 and a social-mediaapplication provided by the social-media server 130, while anothercomputing device may include one or the other application but not both.

A computing device may be configured to run both applications at thesame time or individually. In some examples, the computing devices150-154 may provide to the media system server 120 and/or thesocial-media server 130 an indication of applications that are installedon a particular computing device. For instance, the computing device 150may be configured to provide to the media system server 120 anindication that a social-media application is installed. Additionally oralternatively, the computing device 150 may be configured to provide tothe social-media server 130 an indication that a media application isinstalled and/or active or otherwise currently running.

Furthermore, a computing device may be configured to providesocial-media information and/or media playback information to the mediasystem server 120 and/or the social-media server 130. Such informationmay then be used by the media system server 120 and/or the social-mediaserver 130 to help perform some of the operations disclosed in furtherdetail below.

III. Example Media Playback System

FIG. 2 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 200.The media playback system 200 as shown is associated with an examplehome environment having several rooms and spaces, such as for example, amaster bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room. As shown inthe example of FIG. 2, the media playback system 200 includes playbackdevices 202-224, control devices 226 and 228, and a wired or wirelessnetwork router 230.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 200 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 200, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 2. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device300 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices202-224 of the media playback system 200 of FIG. 2. The playback device300 may include a processor 302, software components 304, memory 306,audio processing components 308, audio amplifier(s) 310, speaker(s) 312,and a network interface 314 including wireless interface(s) 316 andwired interface(s) 318. In one case, the playback device 300 may notinclude the speaker(s) 312, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 300 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 300 may include neither the speaker(s) 312 northe audio amplifier(s) 310, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 300 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 302 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 306. The memory 306 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 302. For instance, the memory 306 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 304 executableby the processor 302 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 300 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 300 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 300 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 300 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 300 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 306 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 300, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 300 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 300, or a playback queue that the playback device 300(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 300. The memory 306may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 308 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components308 may be a subcomponent of the processor 302. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 308 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 310 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 312. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 310 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 312. Thespeaker(s) 312 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 312 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers312 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 310. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 300, the audio processing components 308may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device300 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 314.

The network interface 314 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 300 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 300 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 300, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 300 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 314 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device300 is properly received and processed by the playback device 300.

As shown, the network interface 314 may include wireless interface(s)316 and wired interface(s) 318. The wireless interface(s) 316 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 300 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), controldevice(s), controller device(s) within a data network the playbackdevice 300 is associated with) in accordance with a communicationprotocol (e.g., any wireless standard including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b,802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard,and so on). The wired interface(s) 318 may provide network interfacefunctions for the playback device 300 to communicate over a wiredconnection with other devices in accordance with a communicationprotocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the network interface 314 shown inFIG. 3 includes both wireless interface(s) 316 and wired interface(s)318, the network interface 314 may in some embodiments include onlywireless interface(s) or only wired interface(s).

In one example, the playback device 300 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 300 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 300 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 300 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device300 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 300, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 300 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 3 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 200 of FIG. 2, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 200 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 2. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 2, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 204, 206, 208, and 210 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 222 and 224 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 2may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 202 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 214. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device218 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 202 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 202 and218 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system200 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 200 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 202 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 218 and the playback device 202.The playback device 202 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 226 and 228. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 200 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone214 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 212 and 214 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 204, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 206, 208, and 210, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 400that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 226 and228 of the media playback system 200. As shown, the control device 400may include a processor 402, memory 404, a network interface 406, and auser interface 408. In one example, the control device 400 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 200.

In another example, the control device 400 may be a network device onwhich media application software is installed, such as an iPhone™, iPad™or any other smart phone, tablet or network device (e.g., a networkedcomputer such as a PC or Mac™). In examples, the media application maytake the form of a media playback system controller application operableto control a media playback system. In yet another example, the mediaapplication may be operable to cause the control device 400 to obtainmedia (e.g., from a given media service provider associated with themedia application) independent from a media playback system and may alsobe operable as a control device of a media playback system.

The processor 402 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 200. The memory 404 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 402 to perform those functions.The memory 404 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 200 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 406 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 406 may provide a means for the control device 400 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 200. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 400 and other devices via thenetwork interface 406. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 200 may be received by thecontrol device 400 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 400 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 406. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 400 toa playback device via the network interface 406. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 200 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 400. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 400 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 400 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 408 of the control device 400 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 200, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 500shown in FIG. 5. The controller interface 500 includes a playbackcontrol region 510, a playback zone region 520, a playback status region530, a playback queue region 540, and an audio content sources region550. The user interface 500 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 400 of FIG. 4 (and/or the control devices 226 and 228 of FIG. 2)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 200. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 510 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 510 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 520 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 200. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 500 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 520 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 530 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 520 and/orthe playback status region 530. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 500.

The playback queue region 540 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 500 of FIG. 5, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 540 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 550 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 200 of FIG. 2, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the mediaservice servers 135-145), or audio sources connected to the mediaplayback system via a line-in input connection on a playback device ornetwork devise, among other possibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system200 of FIG. 2. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

IV. Methods and Systems for Indicating an Association between aSocial-Media Account and a Media Playback System

As discussed above, in some examples, a social-media server mayfacilitate the exchange of data between computing devices associatedwith respective social-media accounts. The exchanged data may be used toassociate a media playback system (or a playback system accountcorresponding to the media playback system) with a social-media account,and/or to provide an indication of playback operations of a mediaplayback system corresponding to the playback system account.

Methods and systems disclosed herein may be implemented within anenvironment that includes one or more of the example networkconfiguration 100 of FIG. 1, the example media playback system 200 ofFIG. 2, the playback device 300 of FIG. 3, the control device 400 ofFIG. 4, and the example controller interface 500 of FIG. 5.

For methods 600 and 700 of FIGS. 6 and 7, and other processes andmethods disclosed herein, the flowcharts show functionality andoperation of one possible implementation of present embodiments. In thisregard, each block may represent a module, a segment, or a portion ofprogram code, which includes one or more instructions executable by aprocessor for implementing specific logical functions or steps in theprocess. The program code may be stored on any type of computer-readablemedium, for example, such as a storage device including a disk or harddrive. The computer-readable medium may include non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, for example, such as computer-readable mediathat stores data for short periods of time like register memory,processor cache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer-readablemedium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary orpersistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical ormagnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. Thecomputer-readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatilestorage systems. The computer-readable medium may be considered acomputer-readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storagedevice. In addition, for the methods 600 and 700 and other processes andmethods disclosed herein, each block in FIGS. 6 and 7 may representcircuitry that is wired to perform the specific logical functions in theprocess.

Furthermore, although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order,these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a differentorder than those described herein. Also, the various blocks may becombined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/orremoved based upon the desired implementation.

For clarity, the methods may be described herein with reference to FIGS.8 and 9. It should be understood, however, that this is for purposes ofexample and explanation only and that the operations of the methodsshould not be limited by these figures.

Referring now to FIG. 6, at block 602 the method 600 involves receiving,by a social-media computing system from a first computing device, afirst message indicating that a media playback system is associated witha first social-media account. In some cases, the media playback systemcan be accessed using one or more playback system accounts. In someexamples, the first message may also indicate that a playback systemaccount corresponding to the media playback system is associated withthe first social-media account. In some examples, the media playbacksystem may include at least two playback devices configured to play backmedia content in synchrony.

In some examples, block 602 may be performed in response to, orotherwise after, various operations. For instance, the social-mediacomputing system (e.g., social-media server 130) may send a querymessage to the media system server 120 and/or media playback devices 140or 142. The query message may represent a request for informationregarding whether any media playback devices associated withsocial-media accounts corresponding to the social-media server 130 areplaying back media content. The social-media server 130 may forward suchquery messages that originate from computing devices (e.g., computingdevice 150-154) as well. In another example, the computing device 152may be communicatively coupled to the media playback system 140 and maysend the query message to the media playback system 140 directly. Thecomputing device 152 may also execute applications respectivelycorresponding to the social-media server 130 (e.g., a social-mediaapplication) and the media system server 120 (e.g., a media playbackapplication). The social-media application may query the media playbackapplication for such information. Other examples are possible.

As an example, the social-media computing system may include thesocial-media server 130 of FIG. 1. In various examples, the social-mediacomputing system may include a single computing device or a collectionof networked computing devices configured to perform the functionalityof the social-media server 130 described above with regard to FIG. 1.

The first computing device may take the form of any of the computingdevices 150-154 discussed above. In one example, the first computingdevice is a control device included as part of the media playback system140. In this example, the first computing device may be configured tocontrol the media playback system 140. The media playback system 140 maybe the media playback system associated with the first social-mediaaccount.

Generally, the first computing device may include any computing devicethat is (i) authenticated by the media system server 120 (or a mediaplayback system) as being associated with the media playback system and(ii) authenticated with the social-media server 130 as being associatedwith the first social-media account. For example, the first computingdevice may include any of the computing devices 150-154, or a computingdevice (e.g., a control device) of the media playback systems 140 or142. Example computing devices include, but are not limited to, cellularphones, smartphones, PDAs, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, videogame consoles, and smart TVs.

The first social-media account may include an account of a social-mediaservice provider that operates the social-media server 130. For examplethe first social-media account may be associated with a given subscriberprofile of the social-media service as described above with regard toFIG. 1. The playback system account may include an account of a providerthat operates the media system server 120 as described above in regardto FIG. 1. The playback system account may correspond to the mediaplayback system (e.g., the media playback system 140).

The first message sent by the first computing device to the social-mediaserver 130 may include any data that indicates the association of themedia playback system (or the playback system account) with the firstsocial-media account. For example, the first message may include sign-incredentials corresponding to the first social-media account and/or anindication of the media playback system (e.g., HHID) that is associatedwith the first social-media account.

At block 604, the method 600 involves, based on the received firstmessage, sending, from the social-media computing system to a secondcomputing device associated with a second social-media account, a secondmessage indicating that the media playback system is associated with thefirst social-media account. (The second message may also indicate thatthe playback system account is associated with the first social-mediaaccount.)

For example, the social-media server 130 may send the second message toany of the computing devices 150-154. The second computing device may beauthenticated by the social-media server 130 as being associated withthe second social-media account (e.g., by the social-media server 130receiving sign-in credentials corresponding to the second social-mediaaccount). The second message may include any data that indicates thatthe media playback system is associated with the first social-mediaaccount (or that the playback system account is associated with thefirst social-media account). For example, the second message may includea media playback system identifier (e.g., HHID) and/or data identifyingthe first social-media account (e.g., a username associated with thefirst social-media account). In one example, the second computing devicemay cause display of an indication (perhaps within a display of thesecond computing device) of the association between the media playbacksystem and the first social-media account (e.g. indications 806 and 906of FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively). The second computing device may alsocause display of an indication of an association between the playbacksystem account and the first social-media account.

Additional operations may be carried out with or in addition to themethod 600. It should be understood that the below discussed operationsare not necessary to perform the method 600.

Prior to sending the second message, the social-media server 130 maydetermine whether the second social-media account is associated with amedia playback system. For example, the social-media server 130 maysearch a database for data indicating an association between the secondsocial-media account and a media playback system. If the secondsocial-media account is association with a media playback system, thesocial-media server 130 may send the second message to the secondcomputing device. In some examples, if the social-media server 130determines that the second social-media account is not associated with amedia playback system, the social-media server 130 may refrain fromsending the second message.

Prior to sending the second message, the social-media server 130 mayreceive a third message (e.g., from the media system server 120, themedia playback system 140, or the first computing device). The thirdmessage need not be received from the same computing device from whichthe first message was received. The third message may includeinformation that is later included in the second message sent to thesecond computing device.

For example, the third message may indicate that the media playbacksystem (e.g., the media playback system 140) is playing back mediacontent. In some examples, the third message may also identify the mediacontent that the media playback system is playing back. For example, thethird message may indicate that the media playback system is playingback “Song A” by “Artist B.” Accordingly, in some examples the secondmessage (sent by the social-media server 130 to the second computingdevice) may indicate that the media playback system is playing back“Song A” by “Artist B.” This information may be indicated by anindicator displayed by the second computing device (e.g., indicator 906of FIG. 9).

Alternatively, the third message may indicate that the media playbacksystem is not playing back media content. In this example, the thirdmessage may also identify media content that the media playback systemwas previously playing back, such as “Song A” by “Artist B.”Accordingly, in some examples the second message (sent by thesocial-media server 130 to the second computing device) may indicatethat the media playback system associated with the first social-mediaaccount is not playing back media content, but may identify mediacontent that the media playback system was previously playing back. Forexample, the second message may indicate that the media playback systemwas playing back “Song A” by “Artist B” at a previous time (e.g., thesecond message may indicate that “Song A” by “Artist B” was the lastmedia content played back by the media playback system). Thisinformation may be indicated by an indicator displayed by the secondcomputing device (e.g., indicator 806 of FIG. 8).

Further operations may include, prior to receiving the third message,sending a request for a message indicating whether the media playbacksystem is playing back media content; and after sending the request,receiving the third message. For example, the social-media server 130may send the request to a control device of the media playback system140, to the media system server 120, or any of the computing devices150-154. The social-media server 130 may then receive the third messagefrom whichever computing device (e.g., the media system server 120,computing devices 150-154, or a control device of the media playbacksystem 140) the request was sent to.

Referring to FIG. 7, block 702 of the method 700 involves receiving froma social-media server, by a computing device associated with a firstsocial-media account, a message indicating that a media playback systemis associated with a second social-media account. (The message may alsoindicate that a playback system account corresponding to the mediaplayback system is associated with the second social-media account.)

One or more operations may be performed before the computing devicereceives the message. One such operation may involve the computingdevice registering or otherwise associating with a social-media account.Referring to FIG. 1 as an example, the process of associating thecomputing device with the first social-media account may include thesocial-media server 130 authenticating the computing device (e.g., thecomputing device 150) by receiving, from the computing device, sign-incredentials corresponding to the first social-media account.

The computing device 150 may receive the message from the social-mediaserver 130. The message may include any data indicating the associationbetween (i) the media playback system (e.g., the media playback system140) (ii) and the second social-media account. For example, thesocial-media server 130 may receive data from a (second) computingdevice (e.g., the computing device 152 or a control device of the mediaplayback system 140) indicating the association between the mediaplayback system and the second social-media account. The social-mediaserver 130 may authenticate the second computing device by receiving,from the second computing device, sign-in credentials corresponding tothe second social-media account and/or receiving an identifier (e.g.,HHID) of the media playback system.

In various examples, the message received by the computing device mayalso indicate that the media playback system is playing back mediacontent and/or may identify the media content that the media playbacksystem is playing back. Alternatively, the received message may indicatethat the media playback system is not playing back media content and/ormay identify media content that the media playback system was playingback at a previous time. For example, the received message may indicatemedia content that the media playback system last played back.

At block 704, the method 700 involves, based on the received message,causing display, by the computing device, of an indication of theassociation between the media playback system and the secondsocial-media account. (The displayed indication may also indicate anassociation between the playback system account and the secondsocial-media account.) The displayed indication may be displayed by adisplay of the computing device associated with the first social-mediaaccount. In examples, the displayed indication may take the form of agraphic (e.g., a particular icon), text, and/or particular colors orother characteristics that are indicative of a social-media accountbeing associated with a media playback system. That is, the displayedindication may help identify to a user “friends” that have a mediaplayback system that is linked with their respective social-mediaaccount.

Referring to FIG. 8 as an example, a display of the computing device mayresemble display 800 which reads “USER X” at a first row 802 and “USERY” at a second row 804. The displayed text “USER X” and “USER Y” mayeach represent social-media accounts that are included in a “friendlist” corresponding to the first social-media account. Based onreceiving the message, the computing device may display indication 806within the first row 802. The indication 806 may indicate that theplayback system account and/or a corresponding media playback system areassociated with the second social-media account (e.g., “USER X”).

In some examples, the received message may indicate that the mediaplayback system is not playing back media content and/or identify mediacontent that was previously played back by the media playback system.The indication 806 may be “greyed out” or otherwise indicate that themedia playback system is not currently playing back media content. Forexample, the indication 806 may also include displayed text, such as“Previously Played Back Song A by Artist B.” As a point of comparison,the second row 804 of the display 800 might not include an indication ofan association between a social-media account “USER Y” and a mediaplayback system. In other examples, the displayed text shown in FIG. 9may not be visible until a user “hovers over” (e.g., with a cursor orone of the user's fingers) the indication 906.

In another example, the received message may indicate that the mediaplayback system is playing back media content and/or identify the mediacontent being played back by the media playback system. Referring toFIG. 9 as an example, the indication 906 of the display 900 may indicatethat the media playback system is playing back media content, perhapsvia a dashed line encircling the indication 906 or via other imagery oranimation that distinguishes the indication 906 from the indication 806of FIG. 8 (e.g., displaying indication 906 so that indication 906 is not“greyed out”). The indication 906 may further identify the media contentthat the media playback system is playing back. For example, theindication 906 may include text reading “Playing Back Song A by ArtistB,” and in some examples, the text may be visible when a user hoversover the indication 1006.

Additional operations may be carried out with or in addition to themethod 700. It should be understood that the below discussed operationsare not necessary to perform the method 700.

An additional operation may include detecting an input representing aselection (or hover over) of the displayed indication; and based ondetecting the input (or hover over), causing display of an indication ofinformation related to at least one playback operation of the mediaplayback system.

In one example, the received message further indicates a source of amedia item that the media playback system plays back, and the computingdevice may cause display of an indication of the source of the mediaitem that the media playback system plays back. For example, displayedtext may accompany the indication 906 of FIG. 9 (not shown). Thedisplayed text may indicate that the source of the media item is aparticular media service provider, a file stored within a local areanetwork that includes the media playback system, and/or a hardwired“line-in” source that outputs an audio signal to be received by an inputport of the media playback system for playback, as the case may be.

In another example, the received message further indicates a playbackzone of the media playback system where the media item is being playedback. Accordingly, displayed text accompanying indicator 906 of FIG. 9may include example phrases such as “Playing Back Song A by Artist B inPlayback Zone C” depending on which playback zone the media item isbeing played back at.

For example, the computing device may receive input indicating intendedmovement of a pointer 908 (e.g., a mouse pointer). The input may causethe pointer 908 to be displayed over the indication 906, in a mannerthat indicates a selection of the indication 906. In response to thedetected input, the computing device may cause display of the text“Playing Back Song A by Artist B.”

In another example, detecting the input or hover over may cause a pop-upmenu to be displayed. The pop-up menu may include options for additionalinformation to be displayed. For example, one option may be for thecomputing device to cause display of a list of the last ten items ofmedia content played back by the media playback system. Another optionmay include the computing device playing back one or more of the itemsof media content from the list. The computing device may then receiveadditional input indicating a command to perform such operations.

In yet another example, after the computing device detects an input orhover over at the displayed indication, the computing device may causedisplay of an option to play back at a (perhaps second) media playbacksystem associated with the computing device, the media content that isbeing played by the (first) media playback system. For example,referring back to FIG. 9, the computing device may cause display of anoption to cause a (second) media playback system associated with thecomputing device to play back “Song A by Artist B.” In some examples,the (second) media playback system may play back that song in synchronywith the media playback system associated with “User X.” In otherexamples, the (second) media playback system may play back that songindependently. Other examples are also possible.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments. While some examplesdescribed herein may refer to functions performed by given actors suchas “users,” “subscribers,” and/or other entities, it should beunderstood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claimsshould not be interpreted to require action by any such example actorunless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves.

VI. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

In one aspect, a method is provided. The method involves receiving, by asocial-media computing system from a first computing device, a firstmessage indicating that a media playback system is associated with afirst social-media account; and based on the received first message,sending, to a second computing device associated with a secondsocial-media account, a second message indicating that the mediaplayback system is associated with the first social-media account.

In another aspect, a social-media computing system is provided. Thesocial-media computing system includes a processor and a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by theprocessor, cause the social-media computing system to perform functions.The functions include receiving, from a first computing device, a firstmessage indicating that a media playback system is associated with afirst social-media account; and based on the received first message,sending, to a second computing device associated with a secondsocial-media account, a second message indicating that the mediaplayback system is associated with the first social-media account.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions that when executed by a social-media computing system causethe social-media computing system to perform functions. The functionsinclude receiving, from a first computing device, a first messageindicating that a media playback system is associated with a firstsocial-media account; and based on the received first message, sending,to a second computing device associated with a second social-mediaaccount, a second message indicating that the media playback system isassociated with the first social-media account.

In yet another aspect, a method is provided. The method includesreceiving from a social-media computing system, by a computing deviceassociated with a first social-media account, a message indicating thata media playback system is associated with a second social-mediaaccount; and based on the received message, causing display, by thecomputing device, of an indication of the association between the mediaplayback system and the second social-media account.

In yet another aspect, a computing device associated with a firstsocial-media account is provided. The computing device includes aprocessor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium that storesinstructions that when executed by the processor cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include receiving from asocial-media computing system, a message indicating that a mediaplayback system is associated with a second social-media account; andbased on the received message, causing display of an indication of theassociation between the media playback system and the secondsocial-media account.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions that when executed by a computing device associated with afirst social-media account cause the computing device to performfunctions. The functions include receiving from a social-media computingsystem, a message indicating that a media playback system is associatedwith a second social-media account; and based on the received message,causing display of an indication of the association between the mediaplayback system and the second social-media account.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

We claim:
 1. A method of operating a social-media computing system, themethod comprising: receiving, from a first computing device via anetwork interface, a first message indicating that a media playbacksystem corresponds to a first social-media account, wherein the mediaplayback system comprises a playback device configured to play mediacontent in a zone, and wherein the first computing device is distinctfrom the playback device; receiving, from the media playback system, asecond message indicating that the media playback system is playingparticular media content in the zone; and in response to receiving thesecond message, sending a third message causing a second computingdevice to display an indication that the media playback system isplaying the particular media content in the zone, wherein the secondcomputing device is associated with a second social-media account thatis subscribed to the media playback system.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining, via the social-media computing system,that the second social-media account is subscribed to the media playbacksystem.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to receivingthe second message, sending a request for a message indicating whetherthe media playback system is playing back media content.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein sending the request comprises sending the request toa media system computing system and receiving the second messagecomprises receiving the second message from the media system computingsystem.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein sending the request comprisessending the request to the media playback system and receiving thesecond message comprises receiving the second message from the mediaplayback system.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivinga fourth message indicating that the media playback system is notplaying back media content.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: causing a display of an indication at the second computingdevice representing that the media playback system is not playing backmedia content.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the third message andthe second message both identify the particular media content.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the particular media content is a first mediacontent, the method further comprising: receiving a fourth messageindicating that the media playback system previously played a secondmedia content in the zone; and in response to receiving the fourthmessage indicating that the media playback system previously played thesecond media content in the zone, causing the second computing device todisplay an indication that the media playback system previously playedthe second media content in the zone.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: causing display of an indication of an association betweenthe first social-media account and the second social-media account. 11.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that whenexecuted by one or more processors cause a social-media computing systemto perform operations comprising: receiving, from a first computingdevice via a network interface, a first message indicating that a mediaplayback system corresponds to a first social-media account, wherein themedia playback system comprises a playback device configured to playmedia content in a zone, and wherein the first computing device isdistinct from the playback device; receiving, from the media playbacksystem, a second message indicating that the media playback system isplaying particular media content in the zone; and in response toreceiving the second message, sending a third message causing a secondcomputing device to display an indication that the media playback systemis playing the particular media content in the zone, wherein the secondcomputing device is associated with a second social-media account thatis subscribed to the media playback system.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, the instructions further includinginstructions to perform operations comprising: determining, via thesocial-media computing system, that the second social-media account issubscribed to the media playback system.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, the instructions further includinginstructions to perform operations comprising: prior to receiving thesecond message, sending a request for a message indicating whether themedia playback system is playing back media content.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein sending therequest comprises sending the request to a media system computing systemand receiving the second message comprises receiving the second messagefrom the media system computing system.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein sending the requestcomprises sending the request to the media playback system and receivingthe second message comprises receiving the second message from the mediaplayback system.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 11, the instructions further including instructions to performoperations comprising: receiving a fourth message indicating that themedia playback system is not playing back media content; and causing adisplay of an indication at the second computing device representingthat the media playback system is not playing back media content. 17.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein thethird message and the second message both identify the particular mediacontent.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,wherein the particular media content is a first media content, theinstructions further including instructions to perform operationscomprising: receiving a fourth message indicating that the mediaplayback system previously played a second media content in the zone;and in response to receiving the fourth message indicating that themedia playback system previously played the second media content in thezone, causing the second computing device to display an indication thatthe media playback system previously played the second media content inthe zone.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,the instructions further including instructions to perform operationscomprising: causing display of an indication of an association betweenthe first social-media account and the second social-media account. 20.A method of operating a social-media computing system, the methodcomprising: receiving, from a first computing device via a networkinterface, a first message indicating that a media playback systemcorresponds to a first social-media account, wherein the media playbacksystem comprises a playback device configured to play media content in azone, and wherein the first computing device is distinct from theplayback device; determining, via the social-media computing system, asubscription status of a second social-media account with respect to themedia playback system; receiving, from the media playback system, asecond message indicating that the media playback system is playingparticular media content in the zone; and in response to determining thesubscription status of the second social-media account and to receivingthe second message, sending a third message causing a second computingdevice associated with the second social-media account to display anindication that the media playback system is playing the particularmedia content in the zone.